but as jim nuttall went through the murder book, he found almost nothing on lazarus, even though sheand of sherri rasmussen. there was only one notation in the criminology in 1986. a detective had written stephanie lazarus, p. o., police officer. as if her name had come up, but not as a suspect. no notes of any conversation with her? >> no paper trail. >> she seemed to be someone above suspicion. stephanie ilene lazarus had grown up in southern, california, a tomboy of sorts and loved sports. she attended u.c.l.a. where she played basketball. it was during her college days that she met and dated john ruetten, long before he and sherri got married. after graduating in 1982, lazarus surprised her family by joining the lapd. this when only a handful of women entered the force. >> i don't think i knew that she was applying. >> stephanie's brother, steven. >> i was very proud of steph. i thought it was a cool thing. >> stephanie lazarus quickly rose through the ranks of lapd, from patrol officer to detective. she was popular, friendly, and well-regarded. her assignments also included proj